Telecommunications Legislation Amendment (Triple Zero Custodian and Emergency Calling Powers) Bill 2025
Senator HANSON-YOUNG (South Australia—Manager of Australian Greens Business in the Senate) (13:22): Minister, thank you for that information in relation to how the custodian will work. Obviously, my colleague Senator Shoebridge has asked some important questions about how this corporation—Optus—has continued to put its profits ahead of service delivery and the safety of Australians.
Let's not forget that it was only a month or so ago that Optus was found guilty in the federal court of terrible sales practices, where they preyed on vulnerable Australians, trying to get them to sign up to telecommunications contracts that they couldn't afford and didn't need. Why? It's because this company only cares about its profits.
It has shown over and over again that it does not care about its customers. It certainly doesn't seem to understand its requirements for delivering a triple 0 capacity. It's like they think it's a chore for them—that it's an add-on.
It's an essential service. Unless the big telcos understand—through stricter regulations, stronger penalties and the fear that, if they stuff it up, cover it up and downplay it—then it's not worth the money for them. Unless they understand that—unless they fundamentally get that it's not worth stuffing it up in the first place—they will just keep going.
I believe there is a cultural problem inside Optus. They treat their customers terribly. They failed to deliver on the triple 0 service.
They failed to meet the most basic obligations in terms of informing the minister and the regulator of when they knew that people had died. We also know that they go around using illegal practices to get new customers. This is why we can't trust them, and this is why it is galling that a company that makes billions of dollars in income in Australia, off Australians, pays zero tax, then doesn't think it has to follow the rules when it comes to regulation and then thinks, 'Oh, well, it doesn't matter, because we'll just get slapped on the wrist with a measly fine.' This is why we must increase the penalties and do it in this bill.
If we wait until later, we've sent the wrong message to Optus—that they can get away with it once again. So I look forward to the government working with this chamber to increase penalties as this bill goes through. I would like to ask the minister, in relation to the custodian itself: is it correct that the custodian is indeed just the secretary of the communications department?